'I literally can't believe it,' says B.C. Swiftie as she scores coveted Vancouver tickets | CBC News (2024)

Ethan Sawyer · CBC News

· Posted: Nov 09, 2023 10:29 AM EST | Last Updated: November 10, 2023

Micky Harris is in her astonishment era.

The North Vancouver, B.C., resident beat out millions of prospective fans Thursday, securingfour ticketsto Taylor Swift's 2024 Vancouver tour dates.

"The fact I'm going to be on the floor for Taylor Swift," saidHarris — who snagged seats for herself, herfiancé andfuture sister-in-law at a rate ofroughly $600 per person—"I literally can't believe it."

Like many Swifties, the 26-year-old's approachbordered on militaristic.

She tells CBC she conscripted a network of nearly 40 people, including friends, family and co-workers, to register for the presale lottery, which gave winners access to the sale.

WATCH | North Vancouver Swiftiescores coveted Vancouver concert tickets:

Up until the moment of the tickets' confirmation, Harris described the process as"very intense"as shesat at home with her computer.

Harris, who says she's been "obsessed'' with Swift since she released her first album in 2006, plans to play her music at her wedding next month.

She says her fiancéis also a big Swift fan.

"She's become a cultural moment," said Harris, comparing Taylor Swift to The Beatles and Elvis Presley.

"Years from now, you want to be able to tell your kids, your grandkids you were there."

'We've had zero luck'

But while Harris's campaign was successful, she acknowledges the process could be "devastating" with tickets snapped up in "minutes."

Harris and others interviewed by CBCsay the approach of Ticketmaster and parent company Live Nation Entertainment feels "unfair," citing issues around transparency and protections against third-part re-sellers.

Within an hour, tickets from today's staggered salesappeared on secondary resellers like Stubhub, with floor seats being sold for more than $2,600.

Last November, the companies faced scrutiny after 3.5 million people registered for a Taylor Swift concert pre-sale, causing Ticketmaster's site to crash when the sale went live.

Thefiasco sparked interest from the U.S. Senate, and saw the company's president apologizing to fans and Swift herself.

Similar issues were more recently reported during the 2023 U.K. and French sales of the Eras Tour.

CBC contacted Ticketmaster for comment but did not hear back before deadline.

The company's website says ticket sales for thethree shows are being staggered at 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. PT, and sold on a "first come, first served" basis.

"It's so frustrating," saidLangley, B.C.,mom Shae Harding, who tried unsuccessfully to get tickets."We have tried for Seattle, we tried for Toronto and now Vancouver and we've had zero luck."

Harding says she and her children,Cadence and Chloe,tried to "manifest"victory in the presale code lottery by reciting mantras to their idol and burning candles.

"I want to take them and so it's a little disheartening that we can't even get a code to even try to get tickets."

TikTokerKat Ferraritells CBC that Ticketmaster's system is "flawed," with many frustrated about the company's opaque practices.

WATCH | Swifties react to megastar's Vancouver concert announcement:

The Austin, TX, resident posts tipsfor how to navigate the company's Verified Resale, including advice aroundpricing and on-sale times, as well as how to avoid potential pitfalls such as payment errors.

"Ticketmaster has no motivation to improve these systems and make them more fan-friendly," she said, later suggesting the U.S. Department of Justice should re-examine Live Nation's merger with Ticketmaster.

"We need a systematic change to make these sales more affordable ... and I don't know if we're going to get that when Ticketmaster is the essentially sole ticketing company for live entertainment," she said.

Shesays things like improvedwebsite protections could prevent third-party re-sellers from accessing sales, but would require large investment from the company.

Ticket sales platform encourages re-sales: professor

University of Victoria economic professorPascal Courtysays Ticketmaster's current approach encourages people to re-sell tickets at higher prices.

"Because a fairly large profit can be earned from re-selling these tickets —and because there is a sense of scarcity —one way that people deal with it is byopening multiple accounts," he said, adding thetactic is often used by re-sellers.

Courty says a more equitable approach would be non-transferrable tickets that could be returned to Ticketmaster for refunds if people decide not to attend an event, though that comes with limitations.

"It imposes liability because now you have a log of names, and you have privacy issues because some people don't want to have their names stored somewhere."

CBC's Journalistic Standards and Practices|